Keith Cowan (pictured), head of strategy and corporate development for Sprint Nextel Corp., is temporarily taking over as president of the company's CDMA wireless network. According to the
Kansas City Business Journal, John Garcia, who since March had filled the role, left the company Friday. Garcia had been with Sprint for 13 years and moved over to head up the wireless division as part of an executive restructuring initiated in the spring by chief executive Dan Hesse.
Sprint gave no reason for Garcia's departure but did say it would pursue candidates inside and outside the company, which has been losing customers since it acquired Nextel for $35 billion in 2005.
It's unclear how Cowan's interim appointment might affect his other responsibilities, which are far-reaching -- and potentially quite lucrative. As The Deal's Chris Nolter
reported in October, in a letter attached to the telecom's
second-quarter report in August, Hesse states
that Cowan would receive a $1 million bonus "upon the board's approval
of the strategic resolution of the [integrated digital enhanced network]." The iDEN systems have
not fared well since the Nextel merger, and have led to customer
defections. In the same letter, Hesse wrote that Cowan would
get a $500,000 bonus if Sprint closes its massive $14.5 billion
wireless broadband venture with Clearwire Corp., Google Inc., Intel
Corp., Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks
Inc. The deal is projected to close by year's end.
- Suzanne Stevens
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